A POISONED RING.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2092, 15 July 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

A POISONED RING.

A certain city physician, who said that l.e bad Ids mrn particular reason for insist in ’ that no names he mentioned, pave a reporb; the following story, Touching for its absolute truth. He said that he was called upon to attend a disreputable young woman, who told him that she had scratched her finger in some way on a ring that was lying on the table. It was a painful scratch from the first, the finger and hand becoming swollen and badly inllamed, and by the time the doctor readied her the trouble had extended to her arm. “ I saw at once,’ said he, “ that she was poisoned in some way, and that if I had been called upon much later it would surely hare be. n a case for the coroner.” “ Poisoned, but bow ? Will a little scratch like that kill a person? 1 asked the reporter. “ Hold easy now; that is just what I am coming to. I thought at first it was a copper ring, or one with some alloy and that her blood was responsible, but when I took the ring up. after I had done something for her, I found it to be of pure gold. Here it is now. He very careful how yon handle it.” The ring was a ruby of old-fashioned workmanship, set in claws which held it in place. II looked like any other ring; one of the kind that fond loTers give sometimes ; and as the newspaper man examined it he could see nothing whatever deadly in its appearance. He said so, and the doctor re-

plied,— “That ring, my friend, contains enough poison to kill ten men. Ido not know what it is yet, for 1 have not had lime to find out. It is new to me, but if you will look in the alley as you go out, you will find a cat to which I merely touched the ring— just abraded the skin—did not even bring blood, and yet she died in less than an hour.”

“ But I do not understand." The doctor passed to the window, followed by the reporter, i>o you sec,” said he, carefully holding the ring by what may be called the lower side, “that each of these little claws is hollow t You can hardly sec it without a magnifying glass. Here, try this." And sure enough, each was but a hollow tube of almost infinitesimal size.

“ in each of those tubes or hollows,” continued the physician, “or at least I presume in each of them, and certainly in one nr more, is the poison, the ring constituting one of the must dangerous instruments of death that I have ever heard of in all my expert encc."

Do you know where it came from, or how the girl got itqueried the reporter. “ I had some trouble finding that out. I foolishly pressed the question and alarmed the patient, so that she seemed afraid to tell the truth. She said that she had had it for a long time, but a girl who was withhersaid that Hattie—we will call her—had been given the ring by her lover a month before. He was going, she said, and wanted Hattie to go with him. She refused, and they had a quarrel, but seemed to part friends,he leaving the ring her to keep, he said, until he came back."

“ But where did it come from 1 Do they make such things for sale!" “ You will notice that the ring is an old one. It is not worn, but the workmanship might date anywhere from ancient time to fifty years ago. Look at the exquisite tracing on it. There is not another such pieceof work in Australia. It is a jem—one lam going to have if it costs big money—though I will not promise to wear it for some time yet. I know who the man is. Ido not know how long he has had the ring. But I fancy that he gave it in good faith. He may have had it for years, or he may have stolen it. It belongs to some'antiqnary’s collection, and it may be possible that that is just where it is from." “ And had you ever before heard of such a case, doctor?” « No, I never had. I had read of poisonous gems, but I thought it was all superstition as indeed it is, but I never imagined such a thing as poison concealed in a ring in this way. Since the case came up, I have looked into the subject somewhat, and find that history says that such rings were not uncommon a couple of thousand years ago. I’erhaps this one has come ;down from that time, or it may be the revival of a lost art. In any event the case is a new one in modern annals, and the queerest with which I have ever had anything to do. If 1 can find out just what the poison is, it may determine something." “ You say the girl has worn it 7" “ Oh. yes. She might wear it a year and not be scratched by it; but she has not worn it much, as it happened, for it i»a little loose for her linger.” “ And how is she now?”

“ All right, or nearly so. I think 1 got *ll of the poison out of her system, but her arm is very sore yet. It may break out again. In blood poisoning it is sometimes hard to tell, so much depends upon the condition of the blood and the general health of the patient.”